Nov 26, 2010

We went and picked up our Christmas tree this morning, it smells SO good! We've all been pretty wiped out due to Black Friday shopping but I'm so excited to start decorating! Here it is, waiting on our deck:

Nov 24, 2010

I love the snow we've been getting in the Seattle area this week! Everything is so quiet and beautiful. Unfortunately along with the snow I've come down with a bit of a cold, so my thoughts are turning to rooms that are cozy and warm. Anne Boa, an interior designer from West Vancouver BC, Canada, has designed some spaces that do just the trick.

Nov 14, 2010

Yesterday we went on a shopping trip, and while in a few stores I couldn't help but notice a trend in fashion: chintz.

{images from Forever 21}

Chintz, known as a "calico cloth printed with flowers or other patterns in different colors," has been around since the 17th century so it's no surprise that it goes in and out of style as our tastes change.

Normally when I think of chintz though, I think of rooms like this, which has me running for the hills.

Nov 12, 2010

Lately I've been loving the work of Nancy Burfiend from NB Design Group, an interior design company based in Seattle, Washington. When I saw the private library she designed, my heart just stopped.

After watching Beauty and the Beast for the first time as a child, I fell in love with Belle's library and have since sought out countless design ideas should I ever be fortunate enough to have my own library someday. I love reading and while most of my reading has switched from books to blogs, there is nothing more perfect and inviting to me than to sit in a cozy chair by a fire for hours with my nose buried in the pages of a favorite book.

The use of black in this space is perfect. I love the time-worn look of the fireplace mantle and those wing-back chairs are gorgeous. The burnt orange touches are both cozy and luxurious, and what is more fitting in a library than a book page chandelier?

Dream Home - an app that keeps you up to speed with the latest design trends with design ideas for every room in your house. There are TONS of beautiful photos and you don't need an internet connection to view them. Users can even upload their own rooms for people to rate, and you can save your favorites in a folder.

There's even a free version available, which is just as awesome!

Color Snap & Ben Color -From Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore, these two apps allow you to snap a picture of a paint color and match it to one of their paint colors. I love their paints and have had excellent experiences with both so this definitely comes in handy! Oh and did I mention it's free?

ColorChange - I've received a few comments about the presto-chango wall color treatment I did using Photoshop in our entryway. If you don't have PS and happen to have an iPhone, for $2.99 this app can do the same thing. Take a photo of your room, upload it and use their paint colors to change your walls and help you find the perfect fit. It does have a bit of a tough time in low-light conditions and, like Photoshop, it's really better for finding the right range of colors rather than an exact shade. But if you just can't decide between that sage or blue paint you picked out, this app can show you how they would look in your room and help you make up your mind.

Handy Man DIY - An awesome home improvement planner. This app is really helpful when you need to calculate the square footage of a room for painting or for buying trim or flooring. It also lets you keep track of your budget with pricing, organizational and shopping lists. Plus, if you're stuck on a project there are lots of video how-tos and instructions to help you out.

Nov 8, 2010

My how time flies! It's been almost two weeks since I posted last, eek! I've been busy filling orders for Etsy and making new prints, as well as listing items on Ebay (did you know it's free to list 100 auction style listings a month now through January 7th? It's also free for BuyItNow listings for 2 more days). I've also helped to launch a new Etsy shop with a great friend of mine, I'll be sharing it with you sometime next week!

And now for some DIY. This was a project that I started over a year ago (speaking of time flying) and ended up finishing it only recently. I started with an old door that I found in a barn at my parent's house, as well as some wood beams.

I hauled them over to my grandpa's wood shop, where we cut them down to size. The door had about 5 layers of paint on it. I bought some Jasco paint/stain stripper and a plastic palette knife and got to work.

It worked so well! Too well perhaps, since it "stripped" my foam brush. I'll go the cheap paint brush route next time. Oh and a word to the wise, DO NOT let this stuff touch you! I accidentally leaned up against the the door while I was working and got some on my jeans. I wiped it off thinking nothing of it and within seconds my leg burst into flames. Ok I'm kidding, but that's pretty much what it felt like. Thankfully there happened to be a garden hose nearby, so I aimed it at my leg and turned it on full blast.

After getting the door down the last layer of paint, the stripper stopped working. Not exactly what I was hoping for! I bought another can and kept at it, but the paint would not come out. That's when I did a bit of research online and found out I had a door painted with milk paint. Normal paint strippers can't get milk paint out. Ack! If you're ever stuck with this problem, supposedly ammonia will get milk paint out, or there's a product called PDE Paint Remover that's made for removing it.

While mulling over what option I was going to go with, I flipped the door over and randomly tested a spot with the paint stripper. As luck would have it, the paint came right off. Strange that a door would only be painted on one side with milk paint, but I was jumping for joy. The rest was a breeze and after letting it dry overnight, I got to work assembling all the pieces of the headboard.

To attach the legs I used wood glue and nails and for the top piece I used a few screws (square head screws to be exact, I was amazed at how wonderful they were! I'm no carpenter but I'd definitely try those again). I made sure to fill in all the holes with stainable wood filler and to sand them before staining. I wasn't too worried about the hole in the door where the knob used to be as it would be covered by my mattress, but because I had some wood pieces that fit perfectly, I ended up plugging it and filling in the cracks with wood filler.

At this point I used a scrap piece of wood and tested out the stain. I had purchased wood conditioner and tung oil and gave those a try as well, but I ended up liking the raw stain as it was.

I really liked all the dinged up spots in the tester piece and how the stain puddled and turned black, giving it a rustic feel. I noticed a few pre-existing dings in the headboard...

...and decided it could use a few more. I used a paint can opener to give it a few small nicks and a hammer for larger ones.

I also grabbed a nail and hammer and made "worm holes."

Once I was finished beating up the headboard, I stained it a dark color - Jacobean by Minwax. I accidentally left the last coat of stain on too long so the headboard looks black in a lot of lighting conditions, but I don't mind it actually. For protection I also used a spray on polyurethane finish in satin.

So what was the total cost for doing all this? Well, since it's been about a year I don't have all my receipts but here's a pretty good guess:

Door - free from parents barn

Jasco stripper - $13 (x2)

Foam brush - $1

Plastic palette knives - $2 (x2)

Face mask - $3 ish?

Rubber gloves - already had

Wood conditioner - $4 ish? (didn't use)

Tung oil - $7 (didn't use)

Minwax Jacobean stain - $5 (x2)

Wood filler - $4

Spray-on Poly - $7
Sandpaper - $1 for several sheets

Nails/Screws/Glue/Tools - already had

Total = $67

I plan on re-designing my bedroom in the near future too, I've already started collecting a few new items and I'm excited to share the results with you over the next two months!